ROLI unveils Seaboard Block "super-powered" keyboard

ROLI has launched its new affordable touch-responsive keyboard interface, the Seaboard Block.

Priced at £279, the Seaboard Block is a cheaper alternative to the acclaimed Seaboard GRAND and Seaboard RISE models which have been used by the likes of Stevie Wonder and Hans Zimmer.

The wireless 24-keywave, super-powered keyboard is sized to be portable, and connects with ROLI’s mobile app NOISE and desktop production software Equator Player, which include over 100 expressing sounds spanning synths to strings.

It’s part of a new modular BLOCKS range from Roli, containing multiple pieces of hardware which perform unique functions and can be connected to build expandable setups.

Touch Block also launches today, which provides real time controls for manipulating the expressive behaviour of the Seaboard Block.

Roland Lamb, founder and CEO of ROLI and inventor of the Seaboard and the BLOCKS family, said: “Music making will only begin to thrive in the digital age when electronic instruments are truly intuitive and can be played as expressively as any acoustic instrument. Seaboard Block is the culmination and convergence of our work at ROLI to create new instruments that are deeply emotive and easy to play. It is one of the most simultaneously accessible and expressive digital instruments ever made, and I can't wait to hear what people create with it.”

Check out two videos showcasing the power of the BLOCKs range below, and head to ROLI's website for further details.

Patrick Hinton is Mixmag's Digital Staff Writer, follow him on Twitter